Florida Supreme Court: Cant search cellphone without a warrant.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Police need a warrant to search a cellphone – even if it is incident to an arrest.
In the case of Carpenter v. Florida, a defendant was arrested when he traveled to meet who he thought was a minor (it was, of course, a law enforcement officer). At the time of his arrest, police did a search incident to arrest and confiscated a cellphone, which they had examined by a forensic examiner without obtaining a warrant.
The cellphone contained sexually explicit text messages and photos, which the Police used against him. Although the police could have easily obtained a warrant for the contents of the phone, they didn’t, because they believed they were operating under an exemption to the law. Not so, said the Florida Supreme Court.
It is unconstitutional to search a cellphone without a warranty and the fact that the Police operated under the mistaken belief that they had the right to, does not forgive the constitutional violation. They cited Justice Sotomayor, from the US Supreme Court, who had said, “if law enforcement could ‘rely on non-binding authority, officers would ‘beg forgiveness rather than ask permission in ambiguous situations involving . . . basic civil rights.”
Another win for the constitution!
Bravo Zulu for the Constitution. Slowly our justice system is waking up to it. By the way, what ever happened to the provision outlawing ‘entrapment’? I don’t worry about it but some of our law enforcement agencies need to…breaking the law to catch law breakers doesn’t make either right. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Can this ruling be applied to past cases where an appeal is being sought?
You will have to consult with your attorney whether this issue has been properly preserved for appeal.
I would think then that that evidence would now become “fruit of the poisonous tree” in his case. This is a very important decision. I wonder how this plays out for traffic stops? In other words, the texting while driving thing….I have heard of at least 2 young people that were stopped for traffic violations and the officer took their cell phone to see if they were texting at the time ….. no warrant and technically a traffic stop is an arrest (you know that you are not free to leave without consent of the officer after the commission of an infraction – that is the definition of an an arrest)
My son is sitting in prison for 4 years for this very same thing. No warrant was obtained for his cell phone. They took him to a house and plugged his phone in and took all the information off from it. He was also given 1 year of a tether and 9 more years of probation once he gets out PLUS the label of sex offender for life!! He was on an adult site and lured to the police…Our legal system needs an overhaul. My son’s life means nothing to the state of Florida because he was poor and could not afford a lawyer. Makes me sick to my stomach!!!
@Janice
Don’t vote for rick scott